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NZEnglishOfficial records available

New Zealand cosmetic ingredient regulations

Official group-standard schedules cover prohibited, restricted and positive-list substances.

Regulator
Environmental Protection Authority
Source language
English
Coverage version
Cosmetic Products Group Standard schedules effective 1 January 2026

What this list is

New Zealand regulates cosmetics as hazardous substances. The rules sit in a group standard issued by the Environmental Protection Authority, not in a cosmetics act, and the schedules read differently as a result.

  • 2,913 New Zealand records: 2,166 prohibited, 390 restricted, 357 on a positive list.
  • The instrument is the Cosmetic Products Group Standard, made under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act.
  • The regulator is the Environmental Protection Authority, not a medicines or food agency.
  • Schedules 4 to 8 mirror the EU annex structure closely, which makes the divergences easy to miss.

New Zealand reaches cosmetics through hazardous-substances law. The Cosmetic Products Group Standard, issued under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, sets the conditions under which cosmetic products may be imported or manufactured, and the Environmental Protection Authority administers it. There is no separate cosmetics regulator.

In substance the schedules will look familiar: schedules 4 through 8 are laid out much like the EU annexes, with prohibited substances, restricted substances and positive lists for colourants, preservatives and UV filters. That resemblance is the risk. Because the structure matches, it is easy to assume the contents do, and the group standard is amended on its own schedule by its own authority.

The 2,913 records here carry the status the group standard gives them. Where a substance appears as restricted, the limit and conditions are as written in the schedule; where a substance does not appear, no New Zealand entry was resolved for it, which is not the same as a finding that it may be used.

Checked against

Official ingredient records

2913 matching records
Permitted list with conditionsBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Trisodium tris[5,6-dihydro-5-(hydroxyimino)-6-oxonaphthalene-2-sulfonato(2-)-N5,O6]ferrate(3-) (Acid Green 1)

CAS 19381-50-1

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 6, reference 2.

Conditions: Colour index: 10020 · CAS: 19381-50-1 · Colour: Green · Product scope: Not to be used in products applied on mucous membranes

Source:Schedule 6, reference 2, source row 3 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Water-soluble zinc salts with the exception of zinc 4-hydroxy-benzene​sulfonate (Schedule 5, entry 25) and zinc pyrithione (Schedule 5, entry 2, Table 2) e.g. zinc acetate, zinc chloride, zinc gluconate, zinc glutamate

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 5, reference 24.

Conditions: Maximum concentration: 1% calculated as zinc

Source:Schedule 5, reference 24, source row 43 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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ProhibitedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Xanthylium, 9-(2-carboxyphenyl)-3-(2-methylphenyl)amino)-6-((2-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)amino)-, inner salt; and its sodium salt (Acid Violet 9; CI 45190) when used as a substance in hair dye products

CAS 10213-95-3

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 4, reference 1335.

Source:Schedule 4, reference 1335, source row 1409 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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ProhibitedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Xanthylium, 9-(2-carboxyphenyl)-3-(2-methylphenyl)amino)-6-((2-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)amino)-, inner salt; and its sodium salt (Acid Violet 9; CI 45190) when used as a substance in hair dye products

CAS 6252-76-2

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 4, reference 1335.

Source:Schedule 4, reference 1335, source row 1410 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Zinc 4-hydroxybenzene sulfonate

CAS 127-82-2 · EC 204-867-8

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 5, reference 25.

Conditions: Product scope: Deodorants, antiperspirants and astringent lotions · Maximum concentration: 6% calculated as a % of anhydrous substance · Warnings: Avoid contact with eyes.

Source:Schedule 5, reference 25, source row 44 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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Permitted list with conditionsBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Zinc oxide

CAS 1314-13-2 · EC 215-222-5

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 6, reference 144.

Conditions: Colour index: 77947 · CAS: 1314-13-2 · Colour: White · Other limitations: Not to be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the end-user's lungs by inhalation

Source:Schedule 6, reference 144, source row 160 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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Permitted list with conditionsBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Zinc oxide

CAS 1314-13-2 · EC 215-222-5

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 8, reference 30.

Conditions: Maximum concentration: 25% · Other limitations: Not to be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the end-user's lungs by inhalation

Source:Schedule 8, reference 30, source row 36 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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Permitted list with conditionsBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Zinc oxide (nano)

CAS 1314-13-2

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 8, reference 30a.

Conditions: Maximum concentration: 25% · Other limitations: Not to be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the end-user's lungs by inhalation Only nanomaterials having the following characteristics are allowed: - Purity: ≥ 96%, with wurtzite crystalline structure and physical appearance as clusters that are rod -like, star-like and/or isometric shapes, with impurities consisting only of carbon dioxide and water, whilst any other impurities are less than 1% in total - Median diameter of the particle number size distribution D50 (50% of the number below this diameter): > 30 nm and D1: (1% below this size) > 20 nm - Water solubility: < 50 mg/L - Uncoated, or coated with: triethoxycaprylylsilane, dimethicone, dimethoxydiphenylsilanetriethoxycaprylylsilane cross-polymer, or octyl triethoxy silane

Source:Schedule 8, reference 30a, source row 37 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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ProhibitedBinding ruleOriginal is EnglishOfficial-source import checked

Zirconium and its compounds, with the exception of the substances listed under Schedule 5, entry 50 and the zirconium lakes, pigments or salts of the colouring agents listed in Schedule 6, entry 3

CAS 7440-67-7 · EC 231-176-9

New Zealand Cosmetic Products Group Standard Schedule 4, reference 391.

Source:Schedule 4, reference 391, source row 409 · version effective-2026-01-01 · effective Jan. 1, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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Market coverage contract

Complete schedules dataset
Included scope
Schedules 4–8: prohibited, restricted, colourant, preservative and UV-filter entries.
If no match is found
The searchable spreadsheet is an aid; the legal Group Standard and incorporated notices remain authoritative.

Complete verification checklist

  1. Search exact identity across Schedules 4–8.
  2. Apply use, concentration and warning conditions.
  3. Check hazardous-substance classification and Group Standard scope.
  4. Confirm the latest legal instrument, not only the spreadsheet.

How New Zealand differs from other markets

Comparing this market's imported rules against every other market's for the same substance. A market with no imported rule for a substance is left out of that comparison rather than treated as permitting it.

27 substances where New Zealand is stricter than some markets

A formula cleared elsewhere can fail here.

Boric AcidDiethylene GlycolPhenolCatalaseDichloromethaneDihydrocoumarinOxyquinolineThiramZirconium PowderButaneChloropheneFormaldehydeHydroquinoneIsobutaneQUATERNIUM-15Sodium PerborateButylphenyl MethylpropionalCholecalciferolMethylene GlycolSilver NitrateEthylhexyl EthylhexanoateTagetes Erecta Flower ExtractAmmonium Silver Zinc Aluminum SilicateOxyquinoline SulfateSodium BorateErgocalciferolDihydroxyacetone
165 substances where New Zealand is more permissive than some markets

Permitted here under conditions and prohibited, or more tightly held, elsewhere — so a formula built for this market may not travel.

Methyl Alcohol1-NAPHTHOLBenzoyl PeroxideChloramine THydrogen PeroxideP-HYDROXYANISOLE1,5-NAPHTHALENEDIOL2,7-NAPHTHALENEDIOL2-AMINO-6-CHLORO-4-NITROPHENOL2-METHYLRESORCINOL3-NITRO-P-HYDROXYETHYLAMINOPHENOL4-AMINO-2-HYDROXYTOLUENE4-AMINO-3-NITROPHENOL4-AMINO-M-CRESOLButoxyethanolDichloropheneM-AMINOPHENOLMethyl EugenolNitromethaneP-PHENYLENEDIAMINEPhenyl Methyl PyrazoloneSilver NitrateTalcTOLUENE-2,5-DIAMINEZinc Pyrithione1,3-BIS-(2,4-DIAMINOPHENOXY)PROPANE1-HYDROXYETHYL 4,5-DIAMINO Pyrazole Sulfate2,6-DIAMINOPYRIDINE2,6-DIHYDROXY-3,4-DIMETHYLPYRIDINE2,6-DIHYDROXYETHYLAMINOTOLUENE2-AMINO-3-HYDROXYPYRIDINE2-AMINO-4-HYDROXYETHYLAMINOANISOLE2-CHLORO-6-ETHYLAMINO-4-NITROPHENOL2-HYDROXYETHYL Picramic Acid2-HYDROXYETHYLAMINO-5-NITROANISOLE2-METHYL-5-HYDROXYETHYLAMINOPHENOL3-AMINO-2,4-DICHLOROPHENOL3-METHYLAMINO-4-NITROPHENOXYETHANOL4-HYDROXYPROPYLAMINO-3-NITROPHENOL4-NITRO-O-PHENYLENEDIAMINE

and 125 more — see the full comparison

Official sources and legal role

New Zealand cosmetic product schedules 4–8

Prohibited and restricted substances, permitted colorants, preservatives and UV filters

Legal meaning: Official EPA group standard schedules; current market-specific rule source

Available language: English

What this market page can answer

Source and authority

Identify the official material and the regulator responsible for it: Environmental Protection Authority.

Language and scope

See whether usable English or bilingual material exists and what the mapped source actually covers. Current source language: English.

Evidence status

Browse ingredient-level records imported from official sources. Each row states whether it passed deterministic source checks or human editorial review.

How to verify an ingredient for this market

  1. Search the ingredient by INCI name, CAS number or EC number and record the exact identity.
  2. Open each official source above and check the current version, product scope, concentration limits and required warnings.
  3. Confirm effective dates and whether an English text is official, reviewed or only contextual.
  4. Treat a missing local match as unknown, never as permission or a safety conclusion.
Screen an INCI listSearch ingredientsReview source methodology